Me, Myself and Memories

Updates from January, 2019 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  Noreen 4:11 pm on January 1, 2019 Permalink  

  Minus 6 degrees out this morning. Dennis reported that none of the four cats had any intention of leaving the patio porch. We had accumulated a good two inches of new snow. Some places it had piled up with the assist of the strong winds. Some places had been blown bare.

  After breakfast I headed down into the sewing studio with no big expectations. I began making notes of items I would need for the “Santa Project.” Not long in to the note taking, I heard the snowblower idling in the driveway. Dennis was coming in to get suited up with boots, a cap with earflaps and heavy mittens.

  I don’t try to dissuade Dennis when he is determined to do something. Hmm. When, and if I get to be 82, I would not be any different. I know myself now at age 74. My family is well prepared. I pulled out my heavy boots, stocking cap and heavy gloves and followed Dennis out to the driveway. It was important to me that I stay close . . . in case I would be needed. I pulled out my snow pusher knowing I would stay warmer if I was doing something physical.

  We came in the house at 1:00 p.m. with a cleaned out driveway and two patios that were pushed off. It was a case in which Dennis would say “We got the stink blowed off.” Oh yes we did!

  We did put our semi-small artificial Christmas tree out for the garbage. It just doesn’t have the warm fuzzy appeal when half the lights have been burned out. With the existing lights having been installed on the branches in the factory, it is beyond us to try to add some here and there. Next year, I am sure there will be some to choose from when we are ready.

  Our 2019 year is off to a good start, may it be so for all.

   
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  Noreen 3:05 pm on December 29, 2018 Permalink  

  Well by golly! The sewing studio has been vacuumed, all extra sewing items put where they belong and I am not going to start anything new today.

  The sun hadn’t made its appearance over the Christmas week, so today it was wonderful to open up the south blinds and let the sunshine in . . . and I did face it with a grin.

  Our west house porch is 7′ x 14′ with eight windows and a door with a window. It was my time this afternoon to brew a cup of tea, sit out in Dennis’ command chair and watch the world go by. It was a good time to reflect of the year that is just about over. Lots of activity. Some wonderful events and some heart rendering.

  Sipping on the hot brew I began thinking about all the people that pass along the year. Ya know . . . there are some that are so doggone hard to love. There is no other word than, them being contrary. I thank the good Lord that most likely the strongest muscle in my being is my heart. Being blessed that my heart can stretch and not forsake each and everyone of the contrary. The loveable ones nestle into my heart. They comfort me with every beat of my heart. It’s a very good thing.

  I believe that 2019 will be rich with opportunities, and I don’t mean monetarily, for all that keep their hearts open to them.

   
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  Noreen 6:16 pm on December 27, 2018 Permalink  

  Rain, rain go away, come again another day. I will say that the way the snow came yesterday at this time it could have turned out quite differently. I went out about eight last night and cleared the driveway of the snow after it had quit falling. It was nothing to shovel as it was heavier than a ton of bricks. I got one path going across the driveway and then took a third of a swipe for the remainder of the job. There was nothing worse than the concrete when it had been a solid layer of ice after the Thanksgiving twelve inches. It took until this week to have the driveway clear. I was going to make sure this slush didn’t freeze. There is nothing worse than slipping while trying to get in and out of a vehicle safely.

  So anyway . . . today was a good day for me to be in the sewing studio working on my Hobo bag being made out of a discarded vinyl window shade. Bags need to have foam interfacing in them for stability. It comes in various types; no heat needed, fusible via heat on one side and fusible via heat on both sides. All I had in my stash was fusible on both sides. Hmm. Adhering fusible foam onto vinyl via heat was a challenge in getting it hot enough to bond but not melt the vinyl. Getting that to work meant that the opposite side was also going to get hot enough to bond to . . . something or anything. It was a good thing I had a sheet of Teflon to use to protect my ironing board surface. Nothing sticks to that sheet.

  I made good progress even with taking time for the grocery store. It’s suppose to get cold enough to freeze some of this new fallen rain. Dennis rode shot-gun while I did the details in Shopko and the grocery store. He never becomes weary of sitting in the pickup watching people come and go.

  Hopefully I will have more to report tomorrow from the sewing studio. I closed it down at supper time, realizing that stopping while everything is going good and stopping before I screw something up.

   
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  Noreen 4:51 pm on December 25, 2018 Permalink  

  Christmas Eve was a silent night on Stauffer Avenue. That quiet lingered into our Christmas Day. With little traffic outside and silent wind chimes in the evergreen outside of the house, we slept until nine this morning.

  As the day went on there were text messages offering greetings for a very Merry Christmas. It’s always good to have family keep in touch.

  We have had several Christmas gatherings and one is still remaining to be enjoyed this coming Sunday. Dennis spent time in the patio porch and I headed to the sewing studio. Nothing urgent going on. I found some favorite CDs and had music on as I whiled away time doing some stitching. Dennis came down and settled in for some computer solitaire in the guise of keeping me company. I can buy that.

  When we decided to close down the sewing studio, Dennis fixed us a Fuzzy Naval, orange juice and peach schnapps. Dennis remembered that was a drink my Dad always enjoyed over the Christmas days. A good celebratory Christmas drink. I settled into my favorite chair. By the light of the Christmas tree I deem that this has been a wonderfully silent Christmas Day.

   
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  Noreen 4:36 pm on December 23, 2018 Permalink  

  Not much activity here on Stauffer Avenue. We are still basking in the enjoyment that we had yesterday with Megan and Nicholas. Carrie had a great hot meal that hit all the marks. Jeremy took me down into the basement where he has all the stud walls up for having a finished basement, ready to start stringing the wiring. They had gotten an estimate to have it totally farmed out. Not in the budget. The entire family has been pitching in. A good DIY. As I said, it was a full fun day.

  I had given Dennis’ daughter Sandy a scrappy quilt this summer. Last night I received a text message asking if I could make some pillow cases . . . four to be exact. I have nothing left of the scrappy material that is in her quilt. I did spend some time looking into my stashes. I have pulled out a variety of fabrics to begin the project . . . sometime. The pillow cases will be varied in colors, just as the scrappy quilt was.

  I am going to be treated to a tuna hotdish for supper, compliments of the ole cowboy. The secret to his great hotdishes is: I stay out of the kitchen the entire time he is concocting his meal. No problem with staying in the sewing studio as he even washes up the dishes and pans he uses. I do know it is pasta, tuna and peas with some type of sauce. Works for me!

   
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  Noreen 5:28 pm on December 20, 2018 Permalink  

  Today was the closest that I have come to doing nothing than I can remember in a long, long time. One trip to pick up a prescription for Dennis was the huge ten minutes outing.

  My sister-in-law, JoAnn, and I did swap text messages and shared a few photos. That was priceless. It felt good. It felt right.

  YouTube videos did take a fair amount of time. I am working up my nerve to try and sew a bag, aka: purse for myself. I fight with finding stuff in the hollows of the last several purses I have had. I like compartments . . . lots of compartments. As in my sewing studio: a place for everything and everything in its place. I am the detail person when it comes to handling items for doctor appointments, etc. I can travel with enough to sustain us for a week. I am close to giving it a try after having finished one such project. The basics will now be familiar. The finer details will need to be thought out carefully.

  This is Thursday night and it is the night for some of the PBS usual shows that I am following. Dennis will be on one of the other televisions watching the RFD channel. I am sure there will either be a tractor auction or a rodeo for him to enjoy. Good stuff all around.

   
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  Noreen 4:27 pm on December 16, 2018 Permalink  

  Great temperatures in the early winter always brought frolicking to the young calves when they would be let out into the cow yard. We did it so we could get the pens cleaned out before they were like a thick bad mattress. Don’t worry, when they heard the banging of the metal bushel baskets against the feed trough they came in willingly.

  Now what can I possibly put with that for a sensible comparison. Dennis! “It’s nice out.” “We should be doing something.” Dennis was in a great mood and it shouldn’t be wasted. I so agree. When Dennis wants to go, I will get my town shoes on and be ready. Why not. There will be plenty of days when all we can do is put our nose prints on the windows when the frigid temps, ice and snow keep us home. I was ahead of the game. I had the house tidied up and when we would return home, there was leftover hotdish to heat up in the blue speckled round roaster for supper.

  We motored to Mankato in the sunshine. We checked out Home Depot. Dennis is getting very handy in the motorized carts. No toes were run over. We priced out a situation that we may tackle next year. We found some great insulated gloves to purchase for the ole cowboy right next door at Tractor Supply. The gloves were a bit of a sore spot. He had gone out to our Fleet Farm and came home with a pair that he thought would keep his fingers warm. They may do that, but when the gloves are pulled off, so comes the lining . . . of each and every finger. Not good. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that that is what $10.99 will buy you for insulated gloves. Hey . . . there were two layers.

  As we have gone to Mankato multiple times we always marveled and commented on two huge fields of corn that never got harvested. It must have been a total of 160 acres. Today as we went into town we made the same comments. Perhaps a bankruptcy or a death in that family. Well what do you know! On the way home there was a combine in the field making corn dust complete with semis at either end of the fields. Dennis felt better. He just thought it was a sin to leave so much crop out in the fields. We can take that off of our list of concerns.

  We are home. It felt good to come into a tidy home. Dennis has had some extra energy spent and is looking forward to having leftover hotdish for supper. I didn’t even have to bang the cover to entice him into the house. Priceless.

   
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  Noreen 4:00 pm on December 15, 2018 Permalink  

  A Little Bit of Envy 

  The last time Dennis and I were in Mankato, I had a coupon I wanted to use in JoAnn’s before the expiration date.  My need was located in the sewing notions.  I soon found what I needed and headed for the checkout isle.  JoAnn’s is always short of checkers.  The gal ahead of me had a full cart of various yarns of every shade imaginable.  Yes . . . she had her coupons. I was a bit envious.  I could see me in times past using coupons for yarn purchases.  My hands literally itched to be able to while away night times crocheting while having one eye on the yarn and the other on what was on the television.  

  Seeing that gal and her treasures made me think of the kids’ grandmother, Esther Schafer.  She could crochet in her sleep.  The blessing was that the entire time of her later years and her love of yarn, she only had to go out her front door down the short sidewalk, hang a left, go about 15′ and enter the Hector Variety.  I am sure that she was one of their most viable customers for yarn.  

  I am not calling it quits with my 24 crocheted blocks that I am determined to make into a “done” project.  I know if I take it slow, I can get this done.  In crocheting, holding the yarn in the left hand is much like the bobbin of a sewing machine.  That’s where the tension control is.  The right hand is much like the needle of a sewing machine.  I really hadn’t thought it through before mentally throwing in the towel when I first re-discovered these crocheted blocks.  Well, who is to say that the needle might just need to be held in a different way to still make good contact with the tension hand.  The photo on the left is the method I used to hold the hook for decades, that no longer feels good.  The photo on the right allows me to hold the crochet hook to make good contact but does not put undo strain on my right wrist.  It may not go as fast as in times past but it gives me a positive feeling that this long time craft of mine is not lost . . . for now.  When I really looked at the photo I had taken on the right side of this post, I vaguely was reminded of Esther’s hands in the last years of her crocheting.  Perhaps this is how she had conquered some less than good mobility in her hands.  Hmm.    

  I won’t be buying out any bins of yarn in the future, but I may revisit my tote in the basement from time to time and maybe be able to crank out a potholder or two.  I do not want to let go of what I enjoy doing.  As I mentioned a time before, I have become more patient with myself and I give myself permission to take it slower with my projects.  I find so much enjoyment and satisfaction in the outcome.  Life is pretty darn sweet.

   
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  Noreen 4:55 pm on December 14, 2018 Permalink  

  Are you sure it wasn’t the first day of Spring today? It felt fantastic. If we have a complete weekend of these temperatures, we will be able to say goodbye to all the ice pack from the recent dump of snow.

  My main focus today was to attend a retirement party at the courthouse for a gal I had worked with in the past. It was enjoyable to stop in my old office and visit though there is only one employee remaining that worked there at the time since I retired. New faces and new personalities. As I was visiting, one of the realtors stopped in with forms that needed processing. As it turned out he was one of my old nemeses. When he saw me, he stopped short, “You’re not coming back are you?” I saw humor in it, he did not. We could never agree on what values were for selling properties compared to the values used for taxation. I just said, “Tom, it’s great to see you too.” The staff in the office didn’t know how to react. I went on to make the comment that in times past he and I had agreed to disagree.

  Later in the afternoon, I kept an appointment I had made with Curt, the chiropractor. Going back to a time this late fall, I had felt some less than good feelings across the back of my shoulders. At the time it was using the weed whip that had triggered it. In the recent past, the roof snow rake had spiked the same feelings. Curt is very familiar with my replacement parts, the shoulders and the knees, and works around them well. I will be going back on Monday for another treatment. I had thought the discomfort was in my neck, not so. I do need to realize that there are some things I need to take a pass on. Hmm. That might be a good resolution in the 2019 year.

   
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  Noreen 5:18 pm on December 13, 2018 Permalink  

  Today was road trip day for the two older ones on Stauffer Avenue. Yesterday all was well, not a problem on the horizon. Today I knew immediately that a hair cut was needed. It was just a tuff of unruly white. How can that barometer change so quickly! Dennis always has a cap available. He is ready to go from zero to 60 in a flip of a wrist and the cap is on his head. I, on the other hand, am not that fortunate.

  It wasn’t a bad idea to get me away from all tasks that would involve the right wrist. Ya . . . like that is really going to happen? I have tried very hard to give the wrist a total time out to only fail. Perhaps the best thing is to take a ride with Dennis and tuck the right hand into the pocket of my jacket and chill.

  It was a good day to be out on the highway as long as the headlights and fog lights were on. The road surfaces were clear.

  We stopped for a few groceries at Sam’s. Cat food and cat litter is always needed for the four footed crew. A 24 lb. bag of Meow Mix is a good buy at Sam’s. Dennis has had a bit of the flu bug and we made sure we had Pepto in the mix of items. He dang near passed out when he went to the convenience store last night and came home with a 4 oz. bottle at $5.48. Oh . . . did I forget to mention that Dennis is economically challenged. He is getting better at the realization of what groceries cost, but a convenience store is perhaps not the best choice to buy taxable. Today he got his Pepto for $.43 per oz. instead of the $1.37 per oz. We like to check out our own groceries so we can corral them into reusable bags and not have them tossed willy nilly into the cart at the will of the checker gal. Dennis does a great job of putting items in the cart with the bar codes showing and his scanning of the items go quickly.

  We are home safe and sound with not a want in the world. I got a fantastic hair cut at Great Clips. Dennis doesn’t look too bad either. We are looking sharp going into the count down for Christmas.